Gobbler review

With the launch of iCloud, Gobbler takes a different approach to online storage

Rating

Price

RRP: Free (in beta)

Pros

Slickly designed desktop client

store and share 25GB of audio project files

Cons

Very niche

Gobbler review

Gobbler is an application that enables you to back up your files to, and access your files from, the cloud. Unlike Dropbox or iCloud, it has its own easy-to-use desktop client, with a host of file management options. But here’s the catch; it only caters for digital audio projects.

If you’re a professional musician or home recording enthusiast, then its support for a range of DAWs will impress you. It can be used with GarageBand, Logic, Ableton Live, Reason, and lots of other popular digital studios.

When first launched, Gobbler scans your local drive for audio projects, cataloguing them in your online account. It scans external drives too, and lists the contents even when they’re removed. You can then tag files, enabling you to create your own cataloguing structure.

You can choose to back up projects selectively to the 25GB of space the service is offering during its beta phase. If you need to transfer projects to other Gobbler users, the process is faster and easier than emailing or using standard FTP. Lossless compression reduces the file size by up to 60 per cent, and if the other user has a previous copy of the project, the program only transfers the changes that have been made.

Gobbler frees musicians from the constraints of the studio

OUR VERDICT

Gobbler has great versioning tools, taxonomy features, unique integration with the DAW applications it supports, and unparalleled transfer capabilities. In a professional context we think it’s an extraordinarily useful tool, with the potential for development into a wider media management platform.